Historical Roots of Mass Poverty in South Asia

Historical Roots of Mass Poverty in South Asia A Hypothesis Tapan Raychaudhuri The contemporary phenomenon of underdevelopment is not a continuation of the traditional economic order of pre-modern times. The patterns of economic organisation and levels of economic performance in the traditional societies of Asia, before they were enmeshed into the international economy created by first the merchant and later the industrial capitalism of western Europe, were significantly different from their contemporary counterparts. In the case of India, the pre-colonial economy in its normal functioning did not generate large groups of half starving people. The author traces the roots of mass poverty in India, as we know it today, to the new institutional framework of agriculture introduced after 1813 which deprived small holders, both tenants and proprietors, of nearly all their surplus, if it did not actually reduce them to landlessness. Not only the new institutional arrangements, but even the positive developments in agriculture augmented the traditional disparities of India's agrarian society. Thus development of a market for cash crops implied a change in the ratio of non-food crops to food crops until, with increases in population, the output of foodgrains per head of population declined quite sharply. And where irrigation provided the means of increasing productivity, those in control of large holdings tried and increased their holdings, often at the cost of the poorer agriculturists. The all-too-familiar phenomenon of today's mass poverty was thus already an established fact of life by the time population began to increase at a steady pace. Thereafter, given the pyramidal structure of rural societyt there was a concentration of the increasing numbers in the lower rungs, until the very poor accounted for a hall or more of the rural population. THE approach and method adopted in health, disease, reduced longevity and sufficiency in food achieved by the Indian this essay are very much those of what is ignorance. In any Third World country Union has not, so far as one knows, af- now described as 'old economic history'. the phenomenon is obvious to any casual fected the quantum of food consumed per This implies an emphasis on the qualita- observer, and objective assessments only head by the rural poor. Nor has the tive rather than the quantitative, on help to confirm with some precision the emergence of India as a major industrial arguments historical rather than econo- first impression'of untrained eyes. One of nation made any significant difference mic in their essence. Of course, any such the less complex definitions of poverty to the percentage of people below the distinction is, beyond a point, artificial. equates it with levels of income barely poverty line. In one view, the percentage The reason for this preference goes enough to secure the minimum of food— has actually increased. Without getting beyond deficiencies in one's training i e, caloric intake—required to sustain the involved in that rather inconclusive which are considerable. Where quanti- human body. In recent years, it has been debate, I would like to emphasise a cen- tative data are not available—on such estimated, some 45 per cent to 53 per cent tral fact: growth and development have crucial matters as national income and of the rural population in the territories by-passed a very large section of the population—the attempt to squeeze the of the Indian Union have had incomes population which remains hopelessly blood of aggregated series from the stone around or below that level. The situation poor. I shall later argue that this end of fragmentary evidence is more coura- in the sub-continent as a whole is surely result is built into the historical cir- geous than prudent. Secondly, this paper not better. In other words, somewhere cumstances which explain the emergence is an attempt to present in a few pages the between 250 and 300 million people are of mass poverty in South Asia. main ideas in what, hopefully, will emerge in conditions of near starvation in that some day as a medium-sized volume. part of the world. These figures represent MYTH OF OVERPOPULATION Some of the statements are hence in the something like 2½ to 3 times the number Students of economic underdevelop- nature of shorthand: the very consider- of the sub-continent's estimated popula- ment have recognised for some time that able differences over space and time are tion around the year 1600. Two other the contemporary phenomenon of under- 'de-emphasised' and the focus is on the well known facts from the contemporary development is not a continuation of the uniformities rather than the variations situation have a relevance to our under- traditional economic order of pre-modern without, one hopes, distorting the essen- standing of the historical process which times. The patterns of economic organisa- tial historical reality. Finally, the impre- generated this phenomenon. First, not tion and levels of economic performance cision which marks most of the state- every one in South Asia is poor. Leaving in traditional societies of Asia, before ments which follow is not accidental. It aside the Birlas, the Tatas and Pakistan's they were enmeshed into the international represents what, to my understanding, is 200 families, there is a large slab of urban economy created by first the merchant the closest approximation to our present and rural population with a very comfor- and later the industrial capitalism of level of knowledge and possible per- table and rising standard of living. These western Europe, were significantly dif- ception. are the beneficiaries of the very substan- ferent from their contemporary counter- Let me begin with an imprecise defini- tial growth achieved by the territories in parts. To take one elementary fact into tion. Mass poverty is a situation where question, which is the second well known account, the prevalent image of the very large numbers in absolute terms and fact I wanted to emphasise. True, per underdeveloped world today is one of a very large percentage of the population capita income remains low in South Asia overpopulation. For the Indian sub- suffer from a chronic shortage of food but it is not so low as to keep consump- continent, such a description would have and other basic consumer needs like tion at the level of bare subsistence or been of very little relevance as late as 1921 clothing, adequate housing, medicine and below it for such vast numbers. What when its population was below one-third education and hence are victims of ill- is perhaps more important, the self- of the present level. In the seventeenth Economic and Political Weekly Vol XX. No 18, May 4, 1985 801 May 4, 1985 ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL WEEKLY century, the corresponding proportion of liberty and break-up of their families, nest-eggs, contributed to the inflationary was probably nearer to one-eighth, and the ultimate horrors of famine and situation at times of famine. though one estimate puts it as high as war reducing multitudes to utter destitu- The rural scene is in many ways more one-fifth. To take a different criterion, tion. None of these observations are complex. First, one encounters a wide Kuznets estimated that the income per fallacious in themselves, but taken with variation in levels of economic perfor- head of population in the traditional other evidence and read between the lines, mance. An outstanding example of high societies of Asia was probably higher than they do not, I submit, project a picture agricultural yield and plentiful supply of that in the pre-industrial phase of modem of mass poverty or at least anything every variety of food-stuff was Greater industrialised nations. In the Indian case, remotely comparable in magnitude to the Bengal, a region free from recurrent there is some direct evidence to support contemporary phenomenon to which we famines for some two centuries down to such a proposition. The Ain-i-Akbari apply that term. 1770. The bulk of such areas, which gives the average yield per unit of three included Malwa in Central India and qualities of land—good, medium and in- POVERTY IN PRE-COLONIAL INDIA Awadh, was characterised by what may ferior. A well known Indian statistician be described as 'affluent subsistence', i e, Let us first consider the urban aspects has estimated that the wheat yield for an economy geared to production for pur- of the question. While destitution was not Abul Fazl's medium quality land com- poses of consumption rather than ex- unknown—I shall try to explain its eco- pares well with the highest yield of post- change, but having high levels of output nomic origins later—not one observer Green Revolution Indian agriculture. Early and consumption attained with relative mentions the army of deformed or star- 19th century accounts of yield per acre in ease and rather small inputs of labour, ving beggars one invariably encounters in Awadh, in eastern UP—then described as permitting a fair measure of slack which the towns and cities of South Asia today. the 'garden of India', now a chronically could be taken up as and when the Housing of all but the wealthy was con- deficit area—quotes figures which are economy responded to market incentives. structed of flimsy material, but again we higher than those available for England In areas characterised by such abundance hardly come across any descriptions ot after the agricultural revolution. The of food-supply—parts of which were ac- urban slums in the writings of the 17th implications of such nearly incredible tually exported—inadequacy of food and and 18th centuries. The urban poor who evidence, confirmed by Buchanan- clothing was unlikely to have been the lot evoked the sympathies of the Dutch fac- Hamilton writing in the first two decades of large numbers, whatever the pattern of tor, Pelsaert, were mostly artisans and of the nineteenth century, have to be income distribution.

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